O'Bannon And Allen Score $250 Wins At Colusa Fair

By Gary Jacob

Colusa, CA -- Derek O'Bannon paced only the final four laps after leader Pete Johnston lost fire to score a $250 win in the 125 Intermediate feature race as the outlaw karts staged a special Thursday night show during the Colusa County Fair. Johnston doesn't normally race in this division, but installed a 125 engine in his open outlaw kart for the Mason Moore team. He paced the race from lap 9 through lap 21 and appeared headed for the win when he lost power on the front stretch. O'Bannon led the final four laps with Moore in second ahead of QRC All Star Tour dominator Rudger Worley. Kenny Allen of Chico paced the final 16 laps to win the 25 lap Box Stock main event, also worth $250. It was his first feature win and Cameron Bartlett ran second ahead of Kyle Larson, who was driving a second entry for the Tyler Reddick team. David Lee passed an out of shape R J Johnson on lap 13 and won the 20 lap Beginner Box Stock feature with Johnson second ahead of Devin Lee. Lowell Moural of Cycleland Speedway staged fair events in Yuba City, Gridley and Colusa in 2002, but dropped his fair shows in 2003. A few of the local racers got together with the fair board and put on this presentation, importing the Lakeport Speedway paved track officials to run the show.

The 125s drew an 11 kart field and Brian Southers won the first heat race ahead of Moore and O'Bannon. Alan Ambers won heat 2 with double division racer Larson second ahead of Johnston. Brett Miller subbed for Allie Moore in the feature race and the lineup was an invert 4 off the heat race finishes. Larson paced the first lap over Moore and Johnston. A Ambers stalled to force a big melee as the track had large berms on both the inside and outside, leaving no escape routes. Andrew Wiley raced into fourth, but lost the spot to O'Bannon on a lap 3 restart. Moore spun in turn 1 with Johnston now second over O'Bannon and Worley. When Miller spun and got hit by Wiley for a lap 9 yellow, Larson looped in turn 2 to hand the top spot to Johnston. The lengthy Box Stock feature and quick change over to his 125 left the ten year old Larson exhausted and he pulled the track. Johnston now led O'Bannon and Worley. Moore climbed back to fourth and fifth place Southers ran off the top of the track for a lap 11 yellow flag. Worley spun out of third on lap 15 and Wiley spun and got hit by Southers. Johnston lost power as he finished lap 21, but he coaxed one more lap out of the mount before he stalled for a lap 23 yellow flag. O'Bannon gained the lead ahead of Moore, Worley and A Ambers, but A Ambers spun and got hit by Miller on the restart. The leaders had to race around the incident to the checkered flag with O'Bannon winning ahead of Moore, Worley, Shane Theis, Wiley and Southers.

The Box Stocks had the biggest turnout with 14 karts. Allen won the first heat ahead of Jon Phillips and Larson. Lakeport point leader Ryan Richardson took heat 2 with Jake Cartwright second ahead of R J Johnson. Reddick had engine woes in hot laps, but was able to borrow an engine from R J Johnson for the racing action. This main event also had a four kart inversion and ran the 25 lap distance with 8 yellow flags. Phillips and Cartwright shared the front row and Phillips took a quick lead over Cartwright and and Allen. Reddick fell back with an off track excursion on lap 2 as Larson grabbed third from Allen. Richardson raced into fourth on lap 6, but got tangled up with Cartwright for a lap 7 yellow with Larson now second over Allen and Bartlett. On lap 9, the lapped car of Ethan Rohner spun and trapped leader Phillips. Larson spun off the top of the track in the incident and Allen was the new leader over Bartlett and double division racer Wiley. Wiley had borrowed the Shelly Miller kart to race in this class. Phillips raced back to third on this restart, but he broke for a lap 17 yellow flag. Larson was now third ahead of Wiley and Richardson. Reddick moved up to duel Richardson for fourth place and they traded the spot several times. Allen stayed out front for the win with Bartlett second ahead of Larson, Reddick, Richardson, Johnson, Tristan Miller and Wiley.

The Beginner Box Stock action had 8 entries and David Lee won the first heat ahead of R J Phillips and Allison Costa. Younger brother Devin Lee won heat 2 in front of Tanner Thompson and Brenden Lewis. The Lee's live in nearby Maxwell. This 20 lap feature also had a four kart inversion and ran the distance with just a single caution flag. Phillips charged into the lead over Thompson and David Lee. While lapping the slower Riley Peacock entry, David Lee took second from Thompson on lap 2. Devin Lee gained third on lap 6. David Lee began to put pressure on leader R J Phillips. After leading 12 laps, Phillips got out of shape high in turn 2 on lap 13 and David Lee was the new leader. Phillips recovered in second with Bryce Perry taking fourth from Thompson. Perry spun for the only yellow flag on lap 16. David Lee won the feature ahead of Phillips, Devin Lee, Thompson, Lewis and Perry.

Besides the three divisions of racing, five more competitors aged five and under ran a series of hot lap sessions in the debut of a new Ultra Box Stock class.

Summary
Beginner Box Stock
Heat 1
David Lee, R J Phillips, Allison Costa, Riley Peacock
Heat 2
Devin Lee, Tanner Thompson, Brenden Lewis, Bryce Perry
Main
David Lee, Phillips, Devin Lee, Thompson, Lewis, Perry, Costa, Peacock
Box Stock
Heat 1
Kenny Allen, Jon Phillips, Kyle Larson, Tyler Haylett, Tristan Miller
Heat 2
Ryan Richardson, Jake Cartwright, R J Johnson, Tyler Reddick, Andrew Wiley
Main
Allen, Cameron Bartlett, Larson, Reddick, Richardson, Johnson, Miller, Wiley, Phillips, Cartwright, Garrett Peacock, Haylett, Chris Starr, Ethan Rohner
125 Intermediate
Heat 1
Brian Southers, Mason Moore, Derek O'Bannon, Cody Ambers, Andrew Wiley
Heat 2
Alan Ambers, Kyle Larson, Pete Johnston, Rudger Worley, Allie Moore
Main
O'Bannon, M Moore, Worley, Shane Theis, Wiley, Southers, Brett Miller, A Ambers, C Ambers, Johnston, Larson

Thain, DiBenedetto And Bloom Take Idaho Outlaw Kart Features

By Gary Jacob

Caldwell, ID -- Leading all 20 laps after she drew the pole starting position, Cassie Thain from Elk Grove, CA won the Open Outlaw A Main as the QRC All Star Tour made it's longest road trip ever to Sandhollow Raceway Park in Caldwell, Idaho. She was chased to her win by series point leader and defending series champion Sean Becker, who started 3rd. Robbie Whitchurch ran third ahead of Daniel Becker as the inside row starters ran 1-2-3-4. In the 125 Intermediate action, fast timer Matt DiBenedetto from Grass Valley, CA drew the pole after winning his heat and led all 20 laps to win. Napa's Richard Bailey started fifth and ran second with Brett Miller coming from 9th to finish third. In the Box Stock action, Keith Bloom Jr set fast time and won his heat. He drew third starting spot but raced by pole starter Derek Kennemore on lap 13 to win that 20 lap A Main. Outside front row starter Kyle Larson ran second and wrapped up the traveling series championship with one race remaining in November at Red Bluff. A great group of traveling teams from California allowed the three division show to have over 110 entries. Since the Idaho facility lacks lights, the time trials and heat races were run on Saturday afternoon and the feature races were contested on Sunday afternoon. The track was watered between each event leading to a pair of long race days.

Over 50 Open Outlaws time trialed with Ryan Kaplan the quickest at 10.294. S Becker ran a 10.450 lap and Whitchurch had a 10.491 effort. Ukiah's Rick Schamber posted a 10.497 and Thain was fifth quick ahead of Zack Mason. Thain scored a big win at the Ukiah fair race back in August. Mason won the dash honors with Thain second over S Becker. The large field was divided into six heat races with the top 3 finishers in each advancing into the 20 lap A Main. The heat races were straightup off the timed runs. Kaplan won the first heat with D Becker second over Chris Faulkner. S Becker won heat 2 with Michael Tarter second over Aaron Colburn. Whitchurch won heat 3 with Idaho's Josh Ostler second over another Idaho star Bryan Warf. Schamber won heat 4 with Tony Sousa second over David Shingle. Thain won heat 5 from the pole with Kyle Hirst second in front of Chris Mansell. Mason won heat 6 as Idaho's Brandon Johnson came from deep in the field for second ahead of Jared Consani. Four more transfer slots were available in the B Main and Oregon's Brandon Farquhar won that race over David James, Jon Shingle and Idaho's Eric Hodge. Just missing transfers were Kevin Juvenal and Kelly Fairbanks. Juvenal had battled forward from 19th starting after winning the C Main ahead of Kirk Simpson and Jeff Pohlman. The six heat winners drew for their starting order at the front of the 22 kart A Main grid. Thain and Schamber shared row 1 ahead of S Becker, Mason, Whitchurch and Kaplan. Again, the inside row had a major advantage in the 20 lap feature with Thain winning ahead of S Becker, Whitchurch, D Becker, Kaplan, Faulkner, Mason, Consani, D Shingle and Farquhar as a 22 car grid filled the track.

DiBenedetto was the quickest of the 31 125's with a 10.213 lap that beat all the 500 cc Open Outlaws. It easily paced the second fast effort of Lakeport star Kayla Mincey who ran a 10.556. Camden Mendiola ran a 10.567 lap with Alan Ambers, Bailey and Michael Forslund also in the 10.5 bracket. Forslund was the dash winner ahead of Bailey and DiBenedetto. The field was divided into four heat races with the top 3 in each advancing into the 20 lap A Main. DiBenedetto won heat 1 with Bailey second over B Miller. Forslund beat Nic Helwig in heat 2 with Justin Reinolds third. Bradley Terrell took heat 3 in front of Cody Miller and Mendiola. Michael Hubert III took heat 4 ahead of Tyler Wolf and Alan Ambers. It was a tough weekend for second fast Mincey as she ran last in the dash, sixth in her heat and 11th in the B Main. Four transfers were pulled from the B Main finish and Carson City, NV racer Tom Purcell won with Klint Simpson second over Michael Helwig and JoJo Helberg. Idaho's Jimmy Gross won a small C Main ahead of Peter Lawrence. The four heat winners drew for their starting order with DiBenedetto drawing the pole alongside Hubert. Terrell and Forslund shared row 2. DiBenedetto led all 20 laps for the win ahead of Bailey, B Miller, Hubert, Terrell, C Miller, N Helwig, Reinolds, Ambers and JoJo Helberg.

Bloom was the quickest of 29 Box Stocks at 12.019. Derek Kennemore ran a 12.083 lap and Larson was third quick at 12.140. Shane Graham and Dillon Silverman rounded out the top five qualifiers. Derek Kennemore won the dash over Thomas Bruckenstein and Silverman. The field was split into four heat races with the top 3 in each advancing. Bloom won heat 1 from the pole with Silverman second over Doug Kennemore. Derek Kennemore won heat 2 with Mason Moore second over Bruckenstein. Kaplan beat Jonny Lentz in heat 3 as Riley Gomes ran third. Brian Southers won heat 4 over Jacob Miller and Tristan Miller. The final four A Main slots came from the B Main were Jesse Red won over Austin Lev, Cody Ambers and Leanna Kenyon. Just missing the cut were Brad Patchen and Nevada's Jennifer Purcell. Casey McClain won the C Main with Derrick Hirst second over Shelby Dargert. The draw between the four heat winners put Derek Kennemore and Larson on the front row ahead of Bloom and Southers. Derek Kennemore led 12 laps before Bloom took over. Larson ran second over Derek Kennemore, Southers, Lentz, Bruckenstein, Red, J Miller, Lev and Ambers.

Summary Box Stock Fast Time-Keith Bloom Jr 12.019 Dash-Derek Kennemore, Thomas Bruckenstein, Dillon Silverman. Heat 1-Bloom, Silverman, Doug Kennemore, Austin Lev, Cody Ambers. Heat 2-Derek Kennemore, Mason Moore, Bruckenstein, Jake Cartwright, Dana Evans. Heat 3-Kyle Larson, Jonny Lentz, Riley Gomes, Jesse Red, Cory Lockwood. Heat 4-Brian Southers, Jacob Miller, Tristan Miller, Brad Patchen, Gavin Marron. C Main-Casey McClain, Derrick Hirst, Shelby Dargert, Cyle Allison, Shane Graham. B Main-Red, Lev, Ambers, Leanna Kenyon, Patchen, Jennifer Purcell, Evans, Marron, Dargert, Andrew Cumpton. A Main-Bloom, Larson, Derek Kennemore, Southers, Lentz, Bruckenstein, Red, J Miller, Lev, Ambers, Doug Kennemore, Gomes, Kenyon, Silverman, T Miller, Moore. 125 Intermediate Fast Time-Matt DiBenedetto 10.213 Dash-Michael Forslund, Richard Bailey, DiBenedetto. Heat 1-DiBenedetto, Bailey, Brett Miller, Lonnie Stephens, Klint Simpson. Heat 2-Forslund, Nic Helwig, Justin Reinolds, Tom Purcell, Steven Rogers. Heat 3-Bradley Terrell, Cody Miller, Camden Mendiola, Michael Helwig, Stephen Connell. Heat 4-Michael Hubert III, Tyler Wolf, Alan Ambers, Austin Hagar, Kale Freedman. C Main-Jimmy Gross, Peter Lawrence, #3, Mike Salter. B Main-Purcell, Simpson, M Helwig, JoJo Helberg, Rogers, Freedman, Lonnie Stephens, Hagar, Gross, Jessica Helberg. A Main-DiBenedetto, Bailey, B Miller, Hubert, Terrell, C Miller, N Helwig, Reinolds, Ambers, JoJo Helberg, Simpson, Forslund, Purcell, Wolf, M Helwig, Mendiola. Open Outlaw Fast Time-Ryan Kaplan 10.294 Dash-Zack Mason, Cassie Thain, Sean Becker. Heat 1-Kaplan, Daniel Becker, Chris Faulkner, Pete Johnston, Bubba Hill. Heat 2-S Becker, Michael Tarter, Aaron Colburn, Brandon Farquhar, Steven Gannon. Heat 3-Robbie Whitchurch, Josh Ostler, Bryan Warf, Cody Braund, Eric Hodge. Heat 4-Rick Schamber, Tony Sousa, David Shingle, Josh Chartier, Taylor Simas. Heat 5-Thain, Kyle Hirst, Chris Mansell, Eric Miller, David James. Heat 6-Mason, Brandon Johnson, Jared Consani, Jon Shingle, Mark Bowers. C Main-Kevin Juvenal, Kirk Simpson, Jeff Pohlman, Jay Dargert, Chuck Miller, Jerryd Stanley, Brad Dey, Justin Mincey, Shawn Amos, Ron Ennis. B Main-Farquhar, James, J Shingle, Hodge, Juvenal, Kelly Fairbanks, Chad Widener, Simas, Simpson, Gannon. A Main-Thain, S Becker, Whitchurch, D Becker, Kaplan, Faulkner, Mason, Consani, D Shingle, Farquhar, Johnson, Tarter, Sousa, Schamber, J Shingle, Mansell, Hirst, Colburn, Ostler, Warf, James, Hodge.

Perkins, DiBenedetto And Larson First Colusa Feature Winners

By Gary Jacob

Colusa, Ca -- Beau Perkins, Matt DiBenedetto and Kyle Larson scored the feature wins as the QRC All Star Tour for the Outlaw Karts ran round four of their 2002 schedule at the Colusa County Fair Friday night. Colusa became the latest County Fair to be added to Lowell Moural's specially prepared race tracks and had to handle nearly 120 entries in a long day and night of racing. Perkins has expanded his racing into the winged sprint cars, but still remains a threat whenever he steps back into the kart action. He set fast time for the open outlaws, ran third in the dash, won his heat and then won the A Main from the pole with Robert Ballou second over Ukiah's Rick Schamber and Oregon's Brandon Farquhar. Grass Valley's DiBenedetto is the hottest driver weekly at Cycleland Speedway now and he carried that over to the Colusa action by timing 9th fast, winning the 3rd heat and the A Main. His victory boosted him into the series point lead as incoming point leader Tyler Schaaf ran fifth. Dash winner Alan Ambers was second ahead of Justin Reinolds. Larson was the Box Stock point leader entering the event and he had a huge night with fast time, a heat win and the A Main victory. Only a fourth in the dash marred his efforts. Ukiah's Andrew Anderson ran second over Garrett Mills. The 9 year old Larson has been especially successful at these limited events Fairgrounds tracks like Yuba City, Gridley and now Colusa.

There were 47 entries in the Open Outlaw division and Perkins' fast time was a 10.494 effort. Schamber ran a 10.556, Ballou a 10.586 and Tyler McCain a 10.642. Cassie Thain was fifth over Kyle Hirst and Santa Rosa's Chris Mansell. Hirst won the dash over Ballou and Perkins, but had nothing to do with the feature lineup. The karts were split into four heats with the fast timers in front. The top 3 finishers in each heat advanced to the A Main. Perkins won the first heat over Farquhar and Jason Webb, who was filling in for Ryan Foster. Schamber won heat 2 over Hirst and Chris Faulkner. Ballou took heat 3 ahead of Mansell and Steven Gannon. T McCain took heat 4 over Daniel Becker and double division racer Tyler Schaaf. Five more slots were available in the B Main where Robbie Berge won over David Lewallen, Kirk Simpson, Series point leader Sean Becker and Heath Withrow. The A Main had 19 starters as both Tony Sousa and Dennis Clark were added to the A Main grid. Alec Kerns won the C Main over Michael Tarter and Pete Johnston. Johnston is one of the hottest drivers at Cycleland, but was saddled with a 10th place heat run. He ran second in the D Main behind D Clark and advanced through the C Main with a 3rd, but saw his night end with a 8th in the B Main. Starting up front was a key to finishing high as Perkins won the A Main from the pole, second place Ballou started 3rd, third place Schamber lined up 2nd and 4th place Farquhar came from 5th. Sousa put a show coming from dead last to place fifth over Gannon, Berge, Mansell, Lewallen and S Becker. Schamber will climb to third in points behind S Becker and Berge with his big night.

Michael Hubert III was the quickest of the 27 125's with his 10.969 lap. Incoming point leader Schaaf ran a 11.047 effort with Lakeport Speedway star Bradley Terrell third at 11.126. Brothers Michael Helwig and Nic Helwig rounded out the top five qualifiers. Alan Ambers was sixth fast and won the dash over N Helwig and M Helwig. The entire field was split into three heat races with the top 5 finishers in each moving into the A Main. Hubert won the first heat over M Helwig and Reinolds. Jessica Helberg won heat 2 over Javonne Cowan and Richard Bailey. DiBenedetto had to come from third starting to win heat 3 over front row starters Ambers and Terrell. Only 3 transfer spots were available in the B Main where Tyler Wolf won over Nevada's Tom Purcell and Schaaf. Derek O'Bannon was fourth over John-Michael Bunn. DiBenedetto charged to the A Main win over Ambers, Reinolds, N Helwig, Schaaf, Brett Miller, JoJo Helberg, Hubert and Cowan. M Helwig was last in the 18 kart field and tumbled in the points as he started the night third behind Schaaf and DiBenedetto.

Larson was the quickest of 42 Box Stocks with his 12.476 lap. Brian Southers ran a 12.612, Dillon Silverman turned a 12.620 and both Jake Cartwright and Thomas Bruckenstein had 12.635's. Sixth fast Moore won the dash over Bruckenstein and Southers. Larson won heat 1 with Bruckenstein second over Jesse Red. Southers won heat 2 over Moore and Keith Bloom Jr. Silverman was chased to his heat 3 win by Anderson and Jonny Lentz. Cartwright won heat 4 with Garrett Mills second over Hunter Colodny. The top 4 in each heat advanced to the A Main and they were joined by four more transfers from the B Main. Derek Copeland won that B Main with Medford winner Riley Gomes second over Shane Graham. Kelley Bell won the C Main with Jerrad Cowan second over Matt Killion. Larson grabbed his third A Main win of the series with Anderson second over Mills, Southers, Red, Copeland, Cartwright, Lentz, Derek Kennemore and Moore. While Larson maintained his solid point lead, the second place duel between Red, Anderson, Southers, Mills, Lentz and Moore continued fierce with Bloom losing ground with a 20th place finish.

Summary Box Stock Fast Time-Kyle Larson 12.476 Dash-Mason Moore, Thomas Bruckenstein, Brian Southers. Heat 1-Larson, Bruckenstein, Jesse Red, Derek Kennemore, Derrick Hirst. Heat 2-Southers, Moore, Keith Bloom Jr, Mackenna Bell, Riley Gomes. Heat 3-Dillon Silverman, Andrew Anderson, Jonny Lentz, Cody Ambers, Dallas Colodny. Heat 4-Jake Cartwright, Garrett Mills, Hunter Colodny, Doug Kennemore, Shelby Dargert. C Main-Kelley Bell, Jerrad Cowan, Matt Killion, Brad Patchen, Leanna Kenyon, Zachary Heinz, Zachary Pina, Jennifer Purcell, Tristan Miller, Dylan Greenleaf. B Main-Derek Copeland, Gomes, Shane Graham, Andrew Compton, Tyler Seavey, Bradley Coupe, Jasper Fenton, Hirst, D Colodny, Cameron Mendes. A Main-Larson, Anderson, Mills, Southers, Red, Copeland, Cartwright, Lentz, Derek Kennemore, Moore, H Colodny, Gomes, Bruckenstein, Compton, Ambers, Silverman, Doug Kennemore, Graham, M Bell, Bloom. 125 Intermediate Fast Time-Michael Hubert III 10.969 Dash-Alan Ambers, Nic Helwig, Michael Helwig. Heat 1-Hubert, M Helwig, Justin Reinolds, JoJo Helberg, Brett Miller. Heat 2-Jessica Helberg, Javonne Cowan, Richard Bailey, N Helwig, Michael Forslund. Heat 3-Matt DiBenedetto, Ambers, Bradley Terrell, Cody Miller, Austin Kerns. B Main-Tyler Wolf, Tom Purcell, Tyler Schaaf, Derek O'Bannon, John-Michael Bunn, Alex Cartwright, Steven Rogers, Klint Simpson, Glenn Parman, Ryan Gomes. A Main-DiBenedetto, Ambers, Reinold, N Helwig, Schaaf, B Miller, JoJo Helberg, Hubert, Cowan, Kerns, Forslund, Purcell, Terrell, Wolf, Bailey, Jessica Helberg, C Miller, M Helwig. Open Outlaw Fast Time-Beau Perkins 10.494 Dash-Kyle Hirst, Robert Ballou, Perkins. Heat 1-Perkins, Brandon Farquhar, Jason Webb, David Lewallen, Taylor Simas. Heat 2-Rick Schamber, Hirst, Chris Faulkner, Robbie Berge, Heath Withrow. Heat 3-Ballou, Chris Mansell, Steven Gannon, Kirk Simpson, Sean Becker. Heat 4-Tyler McCain, Daniel Becker, Tyler Schaaf, Cody Braund, Kyle Calvert. D Main-Dennis Clark, Pete Johnston, Shawn Amos, Aaron Colburn, Chad Widener, Cassie Thain, Zack Mason, Michelle Mootz, Josh Hughes, Josh Chartier. C Main-Alec Kerns, Michael Tarter, Johnston, Mike Clark, Hank Withrow, D Clark, Kevin Juvenal, Bubba Hill, Colburn, Thain. B Main-Berge, Lewallen, Simpson, S Becker, Heath Withrow, Braund, Ryan Kaplan, Johnston, M Clark, Robbie Whitchurch. A Main-Perkins, Ballou, Schamber, Farquhar, Tony Sousa, Gannon, Berge, Mansell, Lewallen, S Becker, Faulkner, T McCain, Heath Withrow, Schaaf, D Becker, Simpson, Webb, Hirst, D Clark.